SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME A
GOOD PREPARATION
MT 15: 17-37
MESSAGE
In the middle of this week is the start of the Lenten season; Ash Wednesday is coming. And what better way to prepare for this than to reflect on the set of readings from today’s liturgy, which surprisingly deals with the choice either to follow or disobey the Lord.
The readings teach us first, that sin is a choice. The first reading (Sirach 15) reiterates that wrongdoing is not an accident. God in his goodness and liberality, gives us pathways to traverse, without forcing on us anything. He guides and inspires us to do good but deeply respects human freedom as well. This attitude of the heart of God should teach us responsibility and sensitivity to his will.
Second, the readings impress on us the fact that sin is not first of all an action, but an intention. We may not necessarily transgress the commandments or break the precepts of the divine law, but there is such a thing as the spirit of the law, and this is clear from the Lord Jesus’ teaching in the Gospel.
It is in the heart that desires are formed; in the will that consent happens; in the imagination that we enjoy forbidden things; the intention is what inclines the heart toward what is wrong… even before sin is translated into action.
The message of Jesus centers on sin but his invitation and challenge focus us on the breadth of God’s forgiveness and mercy. Following the Lord is not by avoiding sin, but by training the heart to beat like his heart, to love and respect all that is around us, in persons, in nature, and in the world.
REFLECT
It will be good to prepare for Lent by reflecting on our weaknesses and the need to ask the Lord for the strength to overcome them, for the strength that can only come from him. Lord, may this Lenten season be a chance for me to choose you above all else! Amen.
